Aging: Security vs Risk

The Joy of Aging is Balancing Security and Risk

All of life is a drama of balancing ourselves between security and risk.  There are wonderful delights in being secure.  There are special joys in taking risks.  And there are dangers and hazards in both.

Traditionally the enticements of risk win more with the younger generation.  The joys of security are more attractive to us as we age.  As a result there are more crashes among the young as they take risks, and more stagnation among the old, as we try to be safe and secure. 

Risk taking, and indifference to security, can produce an exciting roller-coaster ride, but such adventures often end back where they started-nothing gained but it was an exciting ride.  But not always is there a lack of gain.  The old axiom is true:  “nothing ventured nothing gained”.  Most growth is the result of breaking out and trying something at least slightly unpredictable and uncertain.

Too much concern with security can add up to tidy bank accounts and neat surroundings, but they may leave the participants  feeling shallow and  even somewhat bored.  Life and growth  seem to depend on trying some new or unproven ventures.

The challenge of aging is to keep on growing. That means continuing to be enticed by the attractions of risk taking.  that guarantees continued growth.  At the same time our health and well-being can be protected by a relatively wholesome amount of security.

When we stop growing we die.  We are expected as God’s people to see life as a continual growth process right up to the time we transition to Jesus’ arms in heaven.  Life  is not to be a challenge up to retirement and then a time of coasting, a downhill slide to the grave. Rather than slowly disconnecting and detaching from our surroundings we must continue to be transformed by the renewal of our minds.  We must never wholly give in to the comforts of the rocking chair and the T.V. but forever keep alive an openness to new adventures and opportunities for enjoying and brightening our world.

(Soon I will blog some ideas about how we can continue to grow even in advanced senior years).